The present invention relates generally to the art of bearings for facilitating shaft rotation. More particularly, the invention relates to a bearing assembly which incorporates an improved sealing arrangement.
Shaft bearings are typically designed having an inner ring and an outer ring, each defining an annular raceway situated in opposition to one another. A plurality of bearing elements are disposed in a bearing region defined between the opposed raceways, thereby permitting relative rotational displacement of the inner and outer rings. To facilitate this relative rotation, shaft bearings are generally configured so that a lubricant may occasionally be conducted into the bearing area.
Various configurations of seals are often utilized to isolate the interior of the bearing assembly from the ambient environment. For example, it may be desirable to prevent lubricant within the bearing from escaping too quickly to the ambient environment, thus presenting an unsightly appearance on or around the bearing. Additionally, it is desirable to prevent contaminants in the ambient environment from penetrating into the bearing interior and causing damage to the bearing elements located therein.
The degree of sealing necessary for a particular application will depend upon the duty requirements of such application. For example, a light seal may be suitable for high speed and normal contaminate service. In other applications, it may be necessary to provide a bearing assembly having enhanced sealing characteristics. For economic and other considerations, it is desirable that a single bearing assembly be provided that may be easily adapted from a light sealing to a heavy sealing configuration.